Our Perfect World
by Tugiacat
Summary: A sequel to "Hold My Hand". Melissa and eventually Zack got themselves into an journey where they must find the truth of a secret organization. Meanwhile in Arizona, Milo and Amanda experienced the life of high school students, and worked together to break a curse, for students' and their sake. Things only got harder when the rivalry arose from behind the minds of all the problems.
1. They Arrive

**Welcome to the first chapter of a new story of mine called "Our Perfect World"! This is a sequel to "Hold My Hand", another my story, so to fully understand the situation, you should read the whole story. It can be confusing if you just pick up from here and haven't seen anything of the prequel.**

**You can find "Hold My Hand" in my profile, it's pretty much up there.**

**Anyway, enjoy this at its fullest!**

* * *

The sun of summer never stopped getting brighter as Danville was experiencing the hottest period of the year.

Right at the Lopez residence, in one of the perfectly beautiful rooms, Amanda tried to sleep for more after an exhausting camping trip she had with her friends the day before.

Her most recent habit was not to turn on the air conditioner at night to save all the money from overusing electricity. That however, was apparently her very first mistake of the day.

"…why is it this hot…?" she exclaimed while sweating and trying to cool herself in many ways. Fluffing her pijama time to time to dry her body. Using her pillow to cover her neck, and so on.

"Amanda, please do wake up!" her mom said sweetly from the kitchen. "It's time for your delicious breakfast."

"Honey, obviously your omelet has to wait. She needs to brush her teeth first," Bruno said knowingly. "It should be tasted delicious in other's mouth right away."

"Come on, you know Amanda needs to get all of her energy back after an exhausting trip. It's been a day off though…" Amanda could only hear her mother saying from there.

The heat was getting on her way and now, the annoyingly adorable parents of her was trying to wake her up.

Amanda got up immidiately and wore her slipper in frustation, "Dang it, stupid heat and the delicious breakfast."

She then breathed in and out once to relax herself before going to the bathroom. Oh, and she responded to her parents too.

"Trying not to steal my breakfast, Dad!"

"Qué? I'll never do such things…" Bruno chuckled and defended himself.

In the bathroom, Amanda quickly changed to her casual clothes. She didn't wear jeans too often though. She wore shorts more than usually since she saw how Milo moved comfortably while wearing those. Also, she was slowly getting used to not wearing jacket and having only a white t-shirt, at least inside her house. Melissa once ridiculed her back at the camp while Milo was charming to her as always, by complimenting that she seemed to have more freedom with that look.

Speaking of Milo, she was still in the mood of pondering and thinking while doing the whatever routine to make her teeth clean. She had been thinking of it since the good news was announced to her.

Her father could get the trophy for telling best dad's jokes ever if there was one. Though, he didn't joke one bit about her family winning a 12-people trip to Arizona.

Only three people under the house where Amanda lives, so the idea of inviting relatives was undoubtedly the first option. But much to Bruno's dismay, they seemed to get busy at… something the father would call 'enjoying summer at home.'

Amanda, suddenly, thought of an absurd and unintentional thought – the Murphy family. Sure, the more the merrier when the Murphys joined in, but she was aiming to invite Milo, again, to her trip.

The trip to Arizona also included a field trip for two teenagers aged from 10-15. They would get a chance to experience in a high school, where there will be students who they will call 'seniors', a whole new studying environment. That sure would help Amanda a lot.

But she thought it would be stupid if she went there alone. What if she went there with Zack? Well, Amanda didn't quite agree with the idea of having either Zack or Melissa go with her. It wasn't like she didn't appreciate them but… they wouldn't be a great match for her during the field trip.

Besides, she knew Zack and Melissa are a thing, vaguely and claimed to herself that it would be a crime if trying to separate them.

And just that, she thought of Milo, but how it would be turning out to her parents? Would they agree? And how would the trip turn out with two families?

A hell lot of questions had been bugging her. But though, they wouldn't know if they didn't use the chance.

So it was settled. She made her final decision – to talk to her parents after spitting the last of the water in her mouth.

* * *

Five days after Amanda announced the idea to her parents, and the good news to the Murphy family, the two families met together and went to Arizona on a van the Lopez family just rented.

The weather just got warm enough - a perfect condition to start a far-away trip.

The Lopez were waiting for Milo and his family but they seemed to have a few problems that they didn't know of.

"Where could they be? Five minutes pass and they haven't come."

"I'm sure they will. Don't worry," Amanda comforted her mom.

She was wearing a pink shirt, white dress and wearing a cute white ferdora.

After a long time they have been friends, she guessed it was Murphy's Law messing things up.

For who had already got used to it, Amanda hoped Milo's family could solve it in time.

"Hello? Sorry, we're late!" the voice came from none other than the jinx Milo Murphy. Zack and Melissa also came by and helped him with all three heavy bags; and Martin, Brigete and Sara followed behind.

"Oh, there you guys are. We have been waiting for all of you," Bruno cheerfully said. Part of him was relieved when the Murphys came a few minutes late.

"Sorry, been keeping track of all the stuffs we have dropped on the way," Martin replied. "Man, we have been confident that we could easily bring our stuffs all the way here."

"Murphy's Law never rests!" Milo exclaimed before turning to his two best friends. "And thanks for the help, Zack and Melissa. That was a big help from you guys."

"Don't mention it. All for the best trip of yours!" Zack said.

"I was informed by Amanda that you two would go on a trip to Arizona. Zack was informed by me and we decided to check over your family today. Looks like you need our help after all," Melissa informed.

"Thanks, guys. Really appreciate it," Sara rubbed both of their hairs. "Though… we shall say goodbye here."

"Oh, right…" Zack chuckled awkwardly. His expression showed that he tried to shrug off a bit of his sadness away with an awkward smile.

"Yeah. It's nice to travel around sometimes, right…" Melissa wasn't any better.

"Cheer up, guys. We will call you once we get there," Amanda comforted both of them. However, she apologetically faced down after telling them another sad news. "Although… we have some empty spots left… but I called the manager and he said… the trip is limited to two families so… I… am… incredibly—so-"

"Oh come on. You guys can rest up without Murphy's Law bothering you," Milo just knew how to lighten the mood. "We have done this once with my family vacation remember? So quit whining! And from today, Veronica is in charge of keeping our house for quite some time. And also, stop betting each other."

Melissa grinned devilly, "Like you can stop us…"

Her eyes showed Milo a bit of her anger there but at least she felt a little better.

"Have a good trip, Milo. Don't wake up any quiet volcano around you," Zack joined in and hugged his best friend.

"Aw, thanks Zack," Milo accepted his hug.

"Can I, too?" Melissa sweetly requested.

"Sure."

"Aww… you babies… let your big sister hug you all," and Amanda made it a group hug of the quartet.

Milo – a jinx and a delightful boy.

Melissa – a brave girl and the smart one in the group.

Zack – until he can think of anything better after having retired from beind a boyband for almost a year, you know he stays for any kind of shenanigans Milo has.

And last but not least, Amanda – who is recently warming up with Milo and appreciates him as a friend. She who has the chance to spend more time with him and his family.

Just wait for what would happen next for Milo and his friends.

"Wait until you see a flood of my message on your phone," the orange-haired girl threatened.

Milo, Zack and Amanda silently widened their eyes.

* * *

At the dingy Strip Mall, which is the only place to stay for Dakota and Cavendish as always, things went totally dark for Cavendish.

He couldn't barely see a small sheer of light, though he had pretty been pretty sure he was fully awake from the nice sleep.

At the same time, they didn't know that Milo and Amanda had already set their foot far away from Danville temporarily. Before that, they got plenty of savings from the Time Bureau for having successfully finished the mission.

They weren't exactly sure why, but ever since they reset the timeline and started over from the moment when they received another new mission from Mr. Block, their fortune slowly increased.

Once, they were assigned to protect the super antique vases. Unfortunately, the law of nature cut some of the vases into small pieces but they weren't blamed for it. The number of vases they protected was just enough to mark their mission as 'success.'

If that didn't prove enough for their sudden fortune then here's another proof.

Not too long ago, they had received another mission from Mr. Block. The same guy as usual, who expected nothing from the two in every mission he assigned for them. That in-character attitude made them somehow relieved.

Finding a rare artifact lying underground was never an easy job in the Renaissance time. Especially when it is said to keep secret treasure.

Their fortune could have drastically overturned if the treasure they were looking for after having searched the vase for 10 hours time square root of 9 was worth their effort. They immidiately thought of a bar of gold. Dakota thought it would contain his favorite snack, however.

The reality really slammed on their blank faces when all they could see inside was a piece of paper.

Dakota read it loud enough for both of them to hear.

"Just as I thought. Nothing is in it. Can this be read through anyhow?" Cavendish complained and groaned. He thought for a while there that he was one step closer to become the wealthy one.

"Hey, don't be sad, buddy. With some missions we have… somehow completed, I'm sure Brick and Savannah won't be able to compete," Dakota comforted his partner.

"Yeah, I know. At least these can help us live happily," the British man quickly overcome his sadness and stood up. "Now come on! We have to report to Mr. Block about this."

The disco man thought while smiling, _"Day to day to day to day to day, a week and two days…_

_Without bothering Milo and Amanda's side for good this time, together we have achieve something we called 'big accomplishment.'_

_I, Vinnie Dakota, am walking along with my old, grumpy, yet heroic Cavendish. He might be annoying sometimes when trying to be a hero, but he cares for people… no… at his heart… he cares for the humanity, for the Earth._

_Because protecting the Earth he loves is what he claimed his very goal for the remaining days he exists in this planet._

_I wonder if he ever cares about me, who has gone all the way to save his life and sacrifice my own timeline time to time. The one who somehow convinces Mr. Block to approve us of getting back to the future – our present as we called._

_But that didn't matter anymore. If there's anything big and he needs my help then you know I can unconditionally give him a hand._

_His love to the Earth… he just wants to be a hero… and he loves the Earth._

_Somehow I feel a bit jealous._

_My feelings aren't matter to him right now but I'm fine with it._

_I'm fine, I'm fine. Cavendish staying like this will be better. Right._

_I'm not selfish. I'm not selfish._

_I just want him to be whoever he wants and right now we're doing something right._

_All this time I have been holding him back…_

_Wait, what was I thinking? How can these stupid thoughts dominate my head without warning? How do I suddenly feel like I'm going to lose him forever._

_Stop, stop thinking about it, me!_

_I… I guess we need to rest up._

_Visiting Renaissance and collecting alien trash for a couple of times in the same week got us all worked up._

_By the way, yes, we're doing missions from two agencies existing in two different eras."_

After the quest of 'finding treasure', they immidiately set themselves for a nice week-long rest. They also tidied the room for the second time since… the first time they moved to there. An outsider would immidiately realize how filthy they had been.

The basic cleaning was all finished. They then got a hand on shopping basic needs such as food, fruits, and sometimes a few clothes to make themselves a new person.

And last but not least, a bed.

The one they were about to buy was big enough for two of them to sleep in, though it might get a little tight. But if they got the bigger one, it would basically cover the entire width of the room. Their room was… compared to all the rooms marked as rented… the most modest of all.

The bigger one was bought.

Cavendish decided it. He thought of an idea to just pass through the other side of the room on barefoot (with the length that actually fits the width of the narrow room, the room has technically been divided into two sides).

That was fine at first, until Dakota realized it could be a problem to his surprising plan for… about a week later.

Back to the present, Dakota was covering Cavendish's eyes, planning to reveal a surprise for him.

"Oh, a surprise for me. I'm flattered," Cavendish seemed to be eager for what Dakota would have on his sleeves.

"No peeking. Wait here," Dakota directed him. _"If it weren't for this large bed, the surprise would be… more surprising."_

Dakota constantly pressed buttons on the time communicator in their office. Cavendish didn't know it, as he kept his promise not to look even just a glimpse of it.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now!"

Cavendish slowly regained vision when suddenly…

"SURPRISE!"

"GWAWAWAHHHH!" Cavendish fell forward to the bed in the middle of the living room after receving a sudden scream.

"Your reactions are hilarious," a woman giggled.

"So it's your surprise. You and Gretchen have planned this all along, haven't you?" Cavendish muttered.

"I'm surprised you aren't aware any of this, but thanks for your cooperation!" Gretchen bowed and thanked him. Truly a mockery.

"You're seem to be delighted today. What do you want anyway?" the British man stood up and tidied up his casual clothes.

"Well, just come here to congratulate you two on your success streak! Keep it up, pals," the woman then whispered. "Also, Mr. Block is going out for a while so I sneak in and contact you two."

"Who are your pals anyway?" Cavendish leered at her after having received a surprising prank. "Y-you know what. Nevermind. Thanks for congratulating us, but if that's the only reason you call us then sorry, I have some more business to do. Bye-"

"Wait, Cavendish!" Gretchen called him. "Actually, there… is something serious happening and… I need both of your help."

"You do?" Dakota looked at the screen when he asked. "We planned the surprise right? How come I didn't know any of this?"

"By the way, what's with that bouncy platform Cavendish planted his face on?" Gretchen pointed to the bed.

"Oh this, this is a be-"

"Ah, ahhh! And you're just trying to mock me! How can I consider helping you if you keep mocking me like that?" Cavendish was still picking her up.

"She's just goofing around, Cavendish," Dakota rolled his eyes before continuing. "Anyway, this is a bed. As you can see, its length covers the entire room's width. So it basically divides the room into two sides."

"I see… and no worries. Our Cavendish is still a hot-head as always. Anyway…" Gretchen faced down and blushed like a little girl who was waiting for a date. "I have some problems and… they're kind of embarassing… but…"

"Gretchen, trust us. We faced many problems before. We can handle this," Dakota made a 'you can count on me' pose or the like.

"Psch, since you show your weak side, I guess I have to give you a hand after all," Cavendish said cockily.

"Well, thank you… both of you… uh… you see, I just received this message from someone called themselves my old classmate and…" Gretchen boringly informed. "I know what you're thinking, maybe this is a prank but no. I check over his account and by his avatar, I can tell that it's him."

"Oooh…" Dakota and Cavendish exclaimed.

"Intriguing…" Cavendish stated.

"So it's like… you're being a man invited to your party or so. Is that right?" Dakota tried to guess the situation.

Gretchen nodded and continued, "Okay so there are many problems with this. Firstly, I need more information about his invitation. I can text him more later. Secondly, I never attend to a party in my life. Well, there's one in Christmas at Time Bureau but a party with my classmates, never once? Thirdly, I thought my classmates were just dumb friends who had been ignoring me. Now they say they want me to be as delightful as possible in their party. They even sent images. Images… that he sent over about theirs…"

"And forthly, this could be some sort of scam. Psst, you must be having trouble in deciding. Not to worry, we come to help!"

Cavendish performed his heroic act as he exited the room and seemingly reached to his time vehicle.

"Pretty sure he also has that _hero_ thing in his blood."

Gretchen stated after she and Dakota being left in the room of the Strip Mall.

* * *

"Aaaand here we are now. Melissa, how many games do you win today?"

"Uuuh… fifteen. You have fifteen, too."

"Coooll…"

"Guys!" Veronica sighed when seeing the incurably boring Zack and Melissa. She was wandering around and thought something like 'she used to babysit Milo in this quiet atmosphere, so how can she cure these two.' Another thought was 'would pizza help them, or mac and cheese?'

"Hey uh… is _that _rock-paper-scissor kinda your thing?" Zack subconciously questioned while playing the game.

"I don't know. Never once," Melissa calmly replied or to be exact, she didn't know how embarassing the situation Zack made was. "But if it makes things interesting, I think we can consider it…"

"Geez, don't make this story M-rated," Veronica rolled his eyes.

"Gwaaah! Bore-"

Suddenly, a noisy sound and a later explosion were heard.

It seemed like some crimson demon witch had casted her one-per-day Explosion… oof, wrong series.

"That sounds… could it be?" Melissa immidiately snapped out of her tiring mood and questioned the sound.

"It's Doofenshmirtz! He must be inventing something in Milo's backyard," Zack cheerfully said. "Of course, how come I never thought of him!"

"Let's see what he's making this time," Melissa said. Zack agreed before both of them ran all the way to Milo's backyard.

Veronica calmly sat on the sofa and rested up a bit, "Well, guess the sofa and the TV are mine then."

* * *

In the backyard, Doofenshmirtz was having some small touches on one of his latest inator.

Based on his expression, he seemed to complain about the unplanned destructive function of the inator.

"Better remove this or I'll be branded as… neighbour terrorist, hehe."

He was about to cut the blue wire inside the inator. There were many wires with different colors in there so he would never hope to make a mistake or something.

"HiDrDwhatyou'reupto?"

Melissa's fast and surprising question startled him. He accidentally cut the red wire and the inator self-destructed.

Doof coughed after the destruction of his inator. He then sarcastically welcomed the appearances of Milo's friends who he used to say as 'don't pay to hang out with him' although those were yesterday's story

"Oh, it's Milo's friends. Well, don't be sorry. This inator is a bust anyway," Doof knew they would apologize for interfering so he planned ahead a comfort.

"G-glad to know… hehe," Zack exclaimed.

"By the way, if you have been lying in there and doing boring stuffs then yes, you now come to the right place!" Doof announced.

* * *

Inside the shed, Doof told his backstory and his motivation to make the inator to Zack and Melissa.

"So I know this guy and his name is Gutter-"

"Gutter? Who has that weird name anyway?" Zack raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, yes yes, of course. I was wondering about it in the first place too and a whole lot more questions etc…" Doof continued. "Anway, he's the master of performing small fireworks. One day, I bought a ticket and came there to fulfill my curiosity. I chose the best seat to watch his performance. I was about to review it five stars when suddenly… a small beam came right into my eye!"

"Ouch…" the kids exclaimed.

"Right? It took three days to recover. It's still bruised a little bit up here," Doof then said. "I swear, I'll show my revenge and prove I can do as much as he does."

The man then made a pose when he introduces his inator, "Behold! The Fireworks-Performing-Inator… which isn't here since you startled me and made it self-destruct."

"So you're still evil? I thought you already went on the path to become Professor Time," Melissa said unimpressively.

"No, Milo's friend girl, this isn't evil. It's… called uh… my incurable pettiness or something like that. It's not evil," Doof turned his face around and insisted on himself doing the rightful revenge. "Besides, there's nothing else to do."

"You're just like us, huh?" Zack asked.

"You can put it like that," Doof nooded in agreement. "Milo's gone and there are just three of us – a pharmacist, a girl and a boyband. We can make another TV show like-"

_HANGING WITH DR. D!_

Da~da~da~

The three looked around for the source of the weird soundtrack just then.

"Where the heck did that come from?" Zack questioned.

"I have no idea where that comes from, hm…" Doof continued. "And I'm sure the sound of the strong wind and the chucking sound coming from a helicopter are not my idea as well."

"Wait, what in the world-?"

Zack, Melissa and Doof went to the backyard.

They saw a helicopter slowly land into Milo's backyard.

The sudden strong wind blew Melissa's hair hard. She wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad sign.

Zack could feel the power of the wind from his hair too. He was wondering what situation would happen to them.

Doof looked at the helicopter in ashtonisment. He didn't seem to care much about the situation since… he didn't really have much hair for himself.

It took a few minutes but the helicopter had reached its destination.

Two teenagers and a pharmacist still stood there. A sudden move could put them in a danger situation.

Something they learn from countless adventures of Murphy's Law.

The door opened and it revealed two men wearing glasses, wearing some kind of clothes for spies. The two sides finally saw each other after the dust coming from the landing had flew pass.

"Sir, it's definitely her! There can be no mistake!" a man whose height seems to be smaller than the other one stated.

"Well then, prepare props. Initiate 'Our Perfect World plan!" another man whose voice seemed to be stricter and he looked taller than the guy before said. Sounded like he was the boss of this kind of plan.

This could be trouble.


	2. A Promising Departure

Zack, Melissa and Doofenshmirtz gave a confused look to the helicopter that was slowly making its land on the backyard in front of the not-evil shed.

"Doof… are you by any chance having an appointment with someone?" Melissa asked.

"Well, let's see… I and Perry the Platypus have an ice cream by using my latest Ice-Cream-Inator this Saturday… nope! I'm open."

"Careful… these people in the helicopter might be no good," Zack warned.

After the strong sense of wind blowing over their hairs, they were finally able to face-to-face with two men. The door of the vehicle seemed to have already opened to welcome whoever they wanted to meet.

They started staring silently to each other for a few seconds before Doof interrupting.

"Uh… ah, can I ask who you are, in case you want to discuss further?"

"Oh, yes, my apologies," the older man started to introduce himself and his partner. "Greetings, youths, pharmacist and… a yellow dog…"

Zack and Melissa turned around and immediately met Diogee looking and barking behind them.

"Diogee? Oh… hey, it tickles…" the dog came to play with Melissa as she was surprised with his sudden appearance. "We thought you were going with Milo."

"Hey, Diogee. Is Milo thinking you're not supposed to be at his place again?" Zack picked him up from Melissa's hands.

The girl turned around again and said, "Alright, so what do you want from us?"

"We want… you!"

The atmosphere turned silent again.

He didn't specify the 'you' in this situation. Melissa turned solid for a split second before saying, "Oh, you mean Doof, right? You want him?"

"I don't work for those weapon dudes," Doof immediately rejected the idea. "Besides, who's the pharmacist anyway? I'm a not-evil-anymore scientist /good guy alright?"

The girl stammered, "O-o-or you mean Z-zack? He's a real singer so he will be a great help if you want to throw a party."

"Hey, my ability is _not_ for your purpose. Besides, I haven't been singing in public for a long time and I won't," Zack denied harshly.

"Uh… then he must be mentioning Diogee right?"

The dog barked.

"He said no," the strange man stated. "And you're all right. We're here for you, Melissa Chase. _Only_ you."

"Please cooperate. You'll be useful for us," the shorter man and the assistant of the leader followed.

At this point, Melissa stood solid and didn't know how to react. She knew she was fearing and her heart rate was slowly raising.

"Hey, what you're gonna do to her?" Zack said like he was defending his girl.

"…guess it's fine?" Doof raised an eyebrow. "So it's not about me. What a relief…"

"More details about your sudden invitation?" Melissa asked.

"I wish, but unfortunately, we have to leave the detail for later. So you just have no choice but to go with us," the commander said.

"Now I wish I know your name to tell you not to approach me like that," Melissa worriedly rolled her eyes. "You know, the introduction interrupted by the dog."

"I… am… uh… you can call me Chief, and this guy here is Phillips, Phils for short."

"Yo, what's up?" unlike Chief, Phils is welcome a nice and peaceful conversation. "Oh, you're gonna see me a lot more. I direct most of the things around here, you know, to give Chief a hand because… he's already too busy."

"And… those vests… do you guys work for some sort of organization?" the girl questioned.

"YES!" Chief stated excitedly before calming himself down. "Welp, we're busted.

Yes, young lad. We work for a government education system experiment. We hope that this education system will fix all the… mistakes and bad rumors that the present one is facing. And to make it a reality, of course, we need students to test it. And Melissa Chase, we seek all kinds of students, from the least intelligent to the most intelligent. You're the last piece of our puzzle. You're smart, incredible…"

"R-really?" the girl slowly turned to face the guy. She was slowly appealing for this idea. She walked and looked up at the sky. Her face blushed a little and her eyes seemed to be glowing. "Am I just what you guys say – smart?...

But… how do you know this?"

"It's the intel from your school," Phils informed. "And judging from your expression, it looks like the school doesn't warn you about this… Oh, I'm monologuing again."

Doof cued Melissa while not having completely understood the situation, "Well, it's your choice. These dudes have great looks and… you'll be great."

"Doof?! You're just gonna let her leave like that?" Zack detested.

"Wha- What do you expect me to do? Shoot them with one of my inators and unintentionally cause World War III?" said the scientist. "Besides, you can consider it. It's a chance that an intellectual like Melissa can't miss."

Melissa shrieked like a fangirl after hearing Doof's words, "Really? Do you think I'm an intellectual?"

"You come over here!" Zack grabbed her arm and quickly pulled her far away (behind the shed).

Melissa was kind of mad at him and surprised by his acts, "What do you think you're doing? This is more th-"

"Not now… sh… let us discuss this over quietly," Zack tried to calm her down to have their discussion, which Melissa eventually agreed to follow.

"Okay good. I'm gonna express my honest opinion: this is freaking suspicious," he explained. "I mean, some dudes exit from a helicopter and invite you to their experiment. Don't you think this is an obvious kidnap?"

"Zack, Zack," she chuckled as Melissa didn't buy any of his words. "You're worrying about nonsense again."

"…look who's talking," Zack mumbled about her version a few moments ago.

The girl then used her finger to shut his mouth and said, "Don't you see, Zack? I'm going to become a part of a new education system. It's all for the world's sake… or at least, America's sake and… I will be a part of it. If it eventually didn't help, we would lose nothing…"

"Yeah, our precious time in summer is on the verge of burning," the boyband turned to be sarcastic.

"…and spend one to two boring weeks without Milo?

Think about all the possibilities once this project is a success."

"You're just thinking about yourself, aren't you?" said Zack. "With all the praising and stuff."

"I don't see why you don't agree with this plan, Zack," Melissa was almost at it with her friend. "What's the deal, anyway? If that's a way to spend time without Milo then I will give it a try!"

"What is _exactly_ wrong with you today?!" Zack yelled back at her after none of his words coming through her ears. "Haven't I told you this is freaking suspicious? If that was the case then you are taking a risk try, friend."

"Who's your friend…"

"…huh?" the boy was mixed between confusion and anger.

"You know what, never mind. I have made my choice," Melissa sighed. She didn't want to argue with Zack but she couldn't slip what seemed to be a once-in-a-blue-moon chance.

"…you're saying…" Zack was only able to whisper his words.

Melissa then walked out and left Zack behind without hesitation.

She walked past Doof and pat his back without saying a word.

"Okay, if that's an 'I'll miss you' then I guess I'll miss you too, Milo's friend!" Doof let her go without understanding any of the situation Zack trying to warn everyone about.

"…that I have never…"

Diogee barked.

Chief and Phils couldn't be more than delighted to have Melissa join their party.

"Welcome to the OPW project, Melissa?... Can I call you like that from now on?" Chief was kind of nervous inside but his outside showed that he could rest well from that point on.

"It's fine if that makes you comfortable. And… what's OPW?" the girl questioned.

"We'll explain later. Now come on!" Phils invited her inside while holding a pack of cupcakes.

"Are you making me eat that? Cupcakes are all over the place. But… I like your hospitality," Melissa said.

"…been your friend.."

"Wait!"

Doof stopped them for a moment, which the Chief had to question.

"What do you want now?"

"Wait, I'll shoot performing fireworks so I can make the best farewell party ever," Doof stated. "Let's see… I'm adjusting my inator, just wait for a few seconds!"

"Oh, Doof…." Melissa giggled. "I'm not going forever, ya know."

"She's right about that, though," Phils followed. "Such a smart girl, right Chief?"

Chief turned to be strict again. Having not heard any of those funny jokes but it was the job of a high-rank commander.

"Well hurry up then. You're lucky that our schedule is open today, and she's the last one for our class," Chief complained.

"Yeah, yeah, one or two minutes won't hurt so hold on your butts," Doof skeptically said.

Diogee barked and jumped around Doof excitedly, taking a look at Doof's inator.

"He's smarter than he looks, alright," Melissa whispered to the adults.

"I can hear you, ya know," Doof said.

"Unfortunately, we have enough scientists for the project. If else, we could have you to our team," Phils informed.

"I won't join you anyway but step aside, and beHOLD my latest invention: the Performing-Firework-Inator!" Doof then pointed it to the bright blue sky and said something like some kind of spell.

Nope, he was saying a good luck speech to Melissa.

"Melissa Chase, now or never, good luck… ah uh… Milo's friend girl, we all, including Milo uh…

…wait, my words are messing up here.

Good luck on your wonderful journey!"

The inator worked perfectly as it blasted fireworks. They were wonderful and safe enough for a small audience.

"Amazing…" Phils exclaimed.

"Take a picture, soldier. You don't wanna miss this moment," Chief ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

A nice and relaxing melody was coming out from the RV making its way to Arizona. As of the moment, Milo's family and Amanda's family were way too eager, as they would have lots of great memories and of course, know more about each other.

Milo's family were more eager though. Amanda's side remained normal, and they were fine with the singing because that's what family trip is all about!

"It's our family vacation song, Amanda. Should try to sing it!" Sara pulled her to sing but she preferred to relax anyway.

"No, thank you. It's delightful to hear you guys sing it."

"Sing it, Amanda!" her mom pushed her. "You know you want to."

"Milo once convinced you before, am I right? At the birthday party…" Bruno said.

"Yeah! Come on, please! You should stay out of your phone once in a while," Milo begged her.

"Oh, Milo, how could I say no with those fake eyes from those glasses..." Amanda sighed and said. "Well, guess I have no choice."

"Yipee!" Milo and Sara cheered.

That was how the trip started. So far, so fun.

"Then we'll help with the beats," Martin raised his hand for his and Brigette's turn.

"I'll help hearing then," Amanda's mom stated, which the daughter didn't seem to be pleased by.

"I'll help with the driving. As the old saying goes, 'they can drive, but I drive five times better than them.'"

Live it up, guys! Now it's the Murphy-Lopez Families Vacation Song playing, performing by Milo, Amanda, and Sara.

_Well, we're going to Arizona_

_And we have an ETA_

_And some complicated stuff that can help us make it_

_Oh yes, we're on our way_

_We've got a mini-fridge filled with electrolytes_

_For when we feel the need to replenish_

_And a funky foreign second-hand GPS_

_That only speaks to us in Flemish_

"You have it too?" Martin questioned.

"Well yeah, _GPS speaking Flemish_ we can buy the same stuff, ya know," Bruno laughed.

_Woah-oh-oh-oh_

_The Murphys and Lopez's to Arizona_

_The day can't get any better_

_When we're singing this song together!_

_Woah-oh-oh-oh_

_Memories from a destination_

_Can pull us through all complications_

_And make the fun last forever!_

_So let's hit the road!_

"Bravo! Bravo!" Ms. Lopez clapped for a great singing from the three. "You three have such amazing singing voices."

"Well, it's nothing, really," Milo was flattered.

"Milo…" Amanda held one of Milo's elbow, much to his curiosity.

"What is it, Amanda?"

It took a few seconds for her to comment.

"I like your voice, Milo. Let's sing together sometimes!" Amanda said.

And that comment made Milo slightly blushed. He didn't expect Amada to praise his voice but she did after all.

"Yeah, we should do it again sometimes. Your voice is cute too," Milo replied.

"Uh… yeah, thanks though I'm not much of a singer," Amanda took the hit from Milo too.

"Hey! What about my voice?!" Sara questioned. "Why does no one talk about it?"

"Oh, I forgot, my dear Sara," Brigette then turned to praise her. "Your voice is-"

* * *

Cut to Doof who was spending five minutes looking at _that _sun and _that_ sky.

After Melissa had given her last moment on this backyard before departing and leaving Doof, Diogee behind, the pharmacist thought he could see the last of the ship, even when the dot was getting smaller, and smaller and smaller…

"Welp, guess I can only see particles now," Doof then stretched his body after having looked at the same spot and partly ruined his posture.

He looked around and was finding another friend of Milo.

"Where's the boyband though? Zack? Boyband?" Doof looked around but couldn't remember exactly where he last saw him.

Diogee helped him look around as well.

The dog sniffed for Zack's scent. Being too familiar with it, he soon found out a suspicious spot and barked for Doofenshmirtz.

"Oh, you mean behind my shed. Oh come here, Zack!" Doof was certain that he had finally found him but he wasn't expected that.

"He's not here… And this backyard has this as an only hiding place," the scientist exclaimed.

"Where could that silly boy go?"

* * *

Meanwhile, things were fine back in the helicopter. Nothing happened and Melissa could finally relax and follow what she had decided to take.

The look of the helicopter is messy and noisy but its interior is without complaining. Clean halls, fresh air and comfortable flying… she stated that she shouldn't have been worried in the first place.

"Having a trip? Well, what do you think about our helicopter?" Phils humbly asked Melissa.

"This is… better than I expected! And just as expected from agents working for the government!" Melissa stated.

"That's great to hear…" Chief just accepted her compliment.

"So about that OPW name… can someone explain it?"

"I'm sorry, Melissa. I know I had promised but I broke the promise this time, okay?" Phils whispered loud enough that only two of them could hear each other, "I can pretty much explain anything except that OPW. And for all circumstances, you must NOT question anything about it. You can get hurt or something, I don't know."

"Okay, got it. Thanks for the warning," Melissa obeyed. _"Alright, if it hurts to know it then I guess I won't. Ha! I know how to protect myself alright, unlike that-"_

"Good! Now stay put. You have cupcakes and… do you bring your phone along?" Phils asked.

"Yeah, it's right here," she showed it to him.

"Excellent! The internet here is strong and I hope you will have a great time while waiting…"

"Yay!"

"The password is just right at the end of the hall. Also letting you know, we won't get to the lab right away," Phils informed.

"Oh, is that so…?" the girl showed a bit of disappointment before quickly shrugging it off. "No worries, haha, I can wait. By the way, where are we heading to exactly?"

"It's somewhere in Colorado," the blond man added. Phils has yellow hair, yeah. "Oh, and you know what, it's near to the peaceful and calm Arizona. Aw, there is a hot tub back there that I want to visit again ever since I finally cured of flu. Hot spring is always the best treatment."

"Right! Maybe we can visit it sometimes, right?" Melissa and Phils laughed.

They were having a fun conversation but it bugged Melissa that he mentioned Colorado where is near to Arizona, _"…and Milo is there…_

_Well, if he has already set his foot on Arizona then I'll suggest him this hot tub."_

"Say, can you tell me the location?" Melissa asked.

"You got it!" Phils rightfully agreed and went in a flash. "I'll find the card in my room."

The girl could finally relax her whole body after a long while. Talking to that man is tiresome while fun at the same time.

She took out her phone and stood up.

"Almost forgot. Check out the end of the hall and look for the password, boom!"

A short walk could be really helpful if you ever cared about staying fit and staying away from diseases. Anyway, after she successfully accessed the Internet, she quickly back to her seat. Then, a sight caught into her eyes.

There were a few more rooms in the hall she was walking. From the glass of the door, she could see a boy was sobbing.

He was sitting on his bed. Sure, she looked around and saw everything was fine at least. There were toys, a nice view from the window and… even a television… and a Nintendo switch!

Couldn't have a better living condition than that!

"_Then what bothers this boy so much…"_ Melissa thought. She could think of a few reasons for it.

Loneliness. She couldn't feel it for now…

…guess that was what she could think of in her head.

Either way, she couldn't help but feel bad for that boy and wished him the best as she continued her happy stroll.

"_That didn't bug me. No, it never, at all!_

_Just keep this happy appearance and you'll be fine for the most part. Yeah, this is fun, and exciting!"_

While Melissa kept motivating herself for what she believed. Phils had managed to meet her again.

"Sorry, I have hidden it too deeply. Anyway, here's the card," Phils gladly gave her the card. "The number, the address, everything you need is in there."

"Neat!" she quickly took a picture of it, then offered again. "And… sorry for bothering you but… can you call my dad and warn him about my absence today?"

"Well, haha, not too worry about that. We're two steps ahead of you," the blonde gladly informed. "It takes like five hours to finally convince him, so you're good now."

"Hah… good…" Melissa immediately lied on the sofa and made it as she fainted.

"Oh no, you're okay, Melissa Chase? Do you need Chief?" Phils was concerned about her act.

"No, it's fine. It's just…" the girl chuckled. "I feel even more relaxed. I feel relaxed more than EVER!"

"That's good then!" Phils sighed in relief. "You made me worried just now."

* * *

Meanwhile, Dakota and Cavendish had finally agreed for another trip to the future – their present – 2175. They were promised by Gretchen to meet her in front of the Time Bureau and that would be the time when they were going to solve the Gretchen mystery.

2175\. As the two exited from the time void, the sky turned dark and the future Danville felt like borrowing from the New York center at night.

They then drove the time vehicle to the Time Bureau and parked the car in front of it as order.

Standing and waiting for the two was none other than the welcoming Gretchen. She looked different than her usual self.

As you can already have figured out, it wasn't working time anymore, and she changed from the uniform you always see to a more slightly informal outfit.

Her white shirt combining with a long black dress might make her aged 3 to 4 years old up.

"Did you do this on purpose?" Cavendish questioned.

"Do what?" Gretchen tilted her head as she hadn't got the idea in his last sentence.

"Dress like this and try to bride us huh?"

"You know nothing, Cavendish," Dakota pouted. "That is her normal attire. You always see her work most of the time that you haven't known anything about her daily life."

The disco guy then proudly stated, "Lucky for us, I have."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gretchen then informed. "Anyway, we will be back in my room at an apartment. I had already informed the landlord about your arrivals…"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! So you're telling me that you called us all the way out here with that serious tone, just to take a nap in your room? Really?!" the British complained. "I'm not surprised by your disappointing timing."

"Oh come on, it will be fun," Dakota had an attempt to comfort him. "We can have a sleepover party… I never had one during my childhood, which is… pretty sad."

"I admit that this sleepover party will be awesome, but will this guy ever cooperate?" Gretchen furiously pointed at Cavendish who had time to time tried to pick up a fight on her.

Cavendish sighed. Things didn't go as his way but he couldn't care less, "Fine. But I probably won't enjoy it much anyway. It's… also my first time."

"We'll figure something out. I'm sure of it," Dakota assured the two.

Having done with their conversation, Gretchen entered the car before all of them, with Cavendish on the wheel, exited the Time Bureau and drove to the apartment.

It wasn't that far away and Gretchen could drive on her own, but coincidently, her car engine had a dangerous crack on it and so she had an engineer fix it for her that day. Also she had made a perfect plan in which she was able to have Cavendish and Dakota drive her home.

Cavendish drove with much experience he already had and complained about how many turns he had to take. And finally, they set their foot in front of the apartment. It isn't as large as the men imagined but it is fascinating enough in height.

And it has a weird T shape too.

"Cavendish, why don't you drive your car to the parking lot while we wait for you at the elevator," Dakota commanded.

Cavendish simply nodded as he drove his car inside to the parking lot.

Leaving Dakota and Gretchen having fun with the spinning door at the entrance.

"Hey, this is fun- oh, watch out your face," Gretchen giggled.

"Now you see me, now you don't. Now, you can't keep up with me!" Dakota tried to make himself fun.

It had been a long while since they played with their childish antics.

"Let's get inside," Dakota said.

"Mhm."

"What's your room number? And is it large enough?"

"It's 143, floor 5th. And believe me, you will be amazed by what it contains," Gretchen informed. "The rooms aren't numbered in order, but by some random technique and according to someone I know from the other room, each number of each room has its meaning that the owner of the building wants to give to us."

"143… I think I have heard it somewhere…" Dakota started to think of the answer.

"You won't find it in just a day. There's someone so close to finding the meaning of his room number but unfortunately, the landlord wasn't there," the woman added. "Who and how the landlord is is remained a mystery to us. He lives on the top of the building and unless you get outside and see him do stuff from far away up to the 35th floor, there's no chance you can meet him directly."

"Wow. Living in this apartment works your brain out a little," Dakota commented.

"Indeed."

After the conversation was over, they silently walked to the elevator where Cavendish should meet them up.

It had also been a while since Dakota and Gretchen talked and conveyed their ideas to each other like this.

They could feel an embarrassing yet easy feeling around them. Dakota could only wish he hadn't been taken away from Gretchen back at the orphanage so that Gretchen wouldn't have suffered it all – the pain she tried to endure day to day during her teenage life, during her whole school life, and even before, during and after her graduation.

She used to be lifeless and unhappy, as Dakota hadn't been there for her and show her how to be on her own, to ignore all of her anxiety and to start a life that she ever wanted.

That would be the perfect story for her life but… we will never know what fate has in stored for us. So let's just safe to say that the more comfortable Gretchen is back.

"_Dakota…_

…_You're simply lonely, aren't you?"_

* * *

Due to an incident, Cavendish's car wasn't able to move any further inside the parking lot. To be exact, he didn't even reach the boom barrier and the cashier along with other workers who were fixing the incident.

"Sorry, sir. You can't move any further as there is a hole on your way. Mind you leave your car right here?" the cashier explained.

"Then mind telling me where did that hole come from?" Cavendish asked.

"Well… it's our landlord who made this mess…" he hesitantly revealed. "Oh please don't tell that to him or he will eat my head… I mean, not literally but like… he often destroys and damages the property. Not only the parking lot but some other stuff in the apartment. And not only in this apartment, but other households are affected as well."

"Hm… It appears that the owner is the naughty one," Cavendish then requested. "Can you lead the way to the elevator? My friends are waiting."

"Oh, right…" the cashier led him in a hurry. "Just this way, sir."

* * *

**Sidestory of An Adventurer (Part 1)**

Night had also fallen on where the helicopter took a break and its surrounding was nothing more than a medium desert.

Around 11 p.m. and mostly everyone had been in a deep sleep. That goes to Chief and Phils, as they were certainly not to let any accident happen before the experiment began.

Melissa had done her final texting not too long ago and she was staying put and sleeping on the sofa just like what Phils had ordered. She wasn't bothered by this, as even the sofa was believed by herself as high quality.

…Someone made a small noise. He tried to step carefully in order not to draw himself attention.

"Okay, got the password… let's see, the… living room?"

Following the direction on his phone, he finally made his way to where he wanted to reach.

While the girl having had the best day ever was sleeping so well that she forgot to put the phone back to her pocket and drooling innocently, this sneaky guy took it gently from her hand.

He already picked where he was going to lie in: under Melissa's sofa. Maybe he was lucky that he could be able to find out a perfect space to follow all of this girl's activities.

It was pretty much his motivation at that moment.

"Okay. Text this and this and… send. That's what you have to pay for…"

Not too long after his action, he gently put the phone back into her palms again. He also quietly took a few cushions from another sofa and used it as his cover while this space under where Melissa was having a nice sleep would be where he had his nap.

As he took out his phone and looked back to another message he had texted.

"_Mom and Dad, try not to look for me._

_I'm fine now. I will be on my own for a while._

_Wait for me, okay?_

_I will be back…_

_\- your dearest son."_


	3. Sleep and Stories (Part 1)

"Oh dear, Melissa, we're incredibly sorry to inform you that your room has not been ready yet," Phils gave her a concerned look.

"No worries, I'm fine with this living room. The sofa is so warm and huggable," Melissa expressed her 5-year-old feeling to the sofa. "And there are two windows. I can even stargaze from my place."

"That's good to hear then," Chief joined in in a calmer way than his underling. "And rest well for now, Melissa. Because tomorrow, we will be heading to Colorado where lies our headquarters."

"U-understood," the girl stammered. "I w-will not let you down!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Cavendish, Dakota and Gretchen were lifted high enough by the elevator and they were about to reach Gretchen's room.

Not too long ago, they all decided on a sleepover. It was weird that they had slept in the same room a few times back at the Strip Mall during the evil Block phase…

Well, then that means…

"It's what I'm saying: only you, me and Gretchen know what had happened in the alternate timeline," Dakota said to the two. "Then I had to thank Milo later and I did."

"You shouldn't have been that violent. What happened back there?" Gretchen wondered.

"I don't know. It's like my wild side is taking over my precious body… maybe?"

"But it was all from the alternated timeline which we destroyed so we shouldn't be too nervous," Cavendish stated.

"You're right…" the woman smiled. "Get ready because this will be our first sleepover for the entire life!"

"Want me to tell you a story again?" Dakota smirked.

"Hardly will you get a chance. I'm not that much of a child anymore."

"Say, it appears like I don't know anything about your past. Dakota told me some stories but they were all over the place," the British requested. "So… let's hear about how you two know each other – something that I have never been aware of…"

Dakota and Gretchen took a moment to make an agreement through eye contact. They both nodded.

"Yes, you will hear about it, if you agree to… this condition," Dakota said.

"And what kind of condition do I have to meet?" Cavendish rolled his eyes. He figured out it would come to this.

"Tell us about yours."

"I'll pass, thank you," he immediately responded.

"Just… come on!" Gretchen exclaimed.

* * *

Milo and Amanda's families had finally reached the house they were going to rest up for the whole trip. It was almost midnight and they could have come sooner if some incidents didn't occur on the way.

Bruno's complaints explained all of it.

"First day and three sets of tires already."

"Well, just three tires were flat. Why didn't you just use another three?" Martin questioned.

"It's kind of annoying to repeat this, Martin. These wheels in one set depend on one another. If one is flat then the whole set is done," Bruno stated.

"B-but-"

"No, just no, Martin. Our family lives with perfection for a long time, and we're only concerned for our safety," Amanda's dad kept on complaining. "I cannot let one small error slip through the crack and ruin our entire trip. I'm going now!"

And just like that, Bruno walked inside the house with a kind of frustrating look.

"He will be fine, don't worry," Amanda's mom assured Milo's parents. "By the way, I haven't properly introduced myself yet. You can call me Britney."

"Bruno and Britney. Sounds like a true match to me."

"Honey…" Brigette elbowed his husband.

"I was just joking. And I'm sorry about all the incidents earlier," Martin apologized.

Then he looked less worried after having heard Britney's giggle. "It's no biggie. I'd love this trip to be perfect actually but… it's no fun without some adventure right?"

"Yeah… sure was…" Martin guiltily glanced away from her gaze.

"I once never grew like on your family. You were there at the accident ten years ago, was that right?" Britney asked him with a sudden change of look.

"…yeah, it's impressive that you still remember it," Martin admitted an accident that he used to believe as his crime for a long time. "And if you know Melissa… then you should know that I killed her mother… because of my clumsiness."

"Listen, I was just telling my opinions about you. I know you didn't do it on purpose," Britney patted his back and comforted him. "Besides, it's all the past… I… then believe about your Murphy's Law thing recently. I was also thinking of how to get rid of it, not too long ago."

"Just a sudden question, how can you believe such a thing like Murphy's Law though?" Brigette asked.

"I mean, come on. Accidents happen when this man and… the boy Milo is around," she explained. "Murphy's Law can destroy stuff but they won't necessarily harm the people to a dangerous extent. All of it and more, it really gets me interested in how to get rid of it, but… I can't now."

"Well, what gives? You're a pharmacist if my eyes don't steer me wrong," Martin wondered.

"Because…" she sighed. "It's my daughter, Amanda, and your son, Milo."

"Oh, they and Sara look so happy while packing their stuff outside and are about to go in," Martin described.

"Guess it will be safer for Amanda if she doesn't know someone as disastrous as Milo…" Brigette sadly pointed to that fact.

"No, it's the opposite. The boy and Amanda are a perfect match."

As she witnessed them doing pinky-promise outside the house, she smiled as her prediction was correct.

"Since her birthday party recently, I know that they have been closer than they realize," Britney shared her thoughts. "Amanda helps Milo fix the incidents he causes and more importantly, Milo helps Amanda realize that…

…life is more than just perfection."

"I have to admit, they do have that kind of chemistry," Martin commented.

"If I really were able to take away Murphy's Law from Milo, things could be worse than it is now," Amanda's mom stated. "Bad luck is Milo's purpose for living. Amanda won't be happy if he loses his purpose. That's why I appreciate it… really appreciate it… their love."

"What about Bruno? Will he?"

"He will and I know it. He just needs time to think it through," Britney said. "And here comes the children."

"Don't treat me like a child mom," Amanda stated. "Come in, Milo. I like the song you just sang to me. What were the lyrics again?"

"Oh, dance like me," Milo cheerfully danced to the beat.

"You know I can't. It looks kind of foolish to me," the girl ran after him.

"Hey guys, wait for me!" Sara brought her stuff in while struggling. Her bag looked a lot heavier than Milo's and Amanda's, as she also brought extra Dr. Zone-themed clothes, Dr. Zone comic books and DVDs of the Doctor Zone series.

Milo and Amanda weren't even concerned about their surroundings as they sang and jumped to the song they had just heard.

_War!_

_Huh._

_Yeah…_

_What is it good for?_

_Absolutely nothin'_

_Say it again, y'all *basically repeat the above*_

"Oi, where did you even hear that song?" Britney yelled to her daughter.

"Not sure about it, mom," Amanda replied.

"See you, Mrs. Lopez," while both of them singing.

That scene left the parents and Sara staring at them blankly.

"They have finally grown up, really?" Sara couldn't believe what she just saw.

"Kids today…" Brigette chuckled.

* * *

_We're going to the zoo._

_We're going to the zoo._

_And then we're gonna see some animals!_

"You have your own catchy tune, cool!" Gretchen didn't know she had repeated the song on her phone for almost a hundred times.

"And we are planning to make an MV. It's going to be a thrill!" Cavendish stated excitedly.

"_Since when was he excited about this?!"_ Dakota thought sheepishly. _"I still remembered him turning the idea down as immediately as the keyboard push."_

"_Wait… did I just think of something stupid?_

_Right now… I'm in the situation that…_

_Being with the one who admires me… and the one who I 'partly but deeply' admire of._

_Is… is this weird though?"_

"But… enough about my sudden fame and fortune…" the British continued. "Let us hear about your past. How… did you two know each other?"

"_Well thanks for breaking my train of thoughts with that false statement. It's my fame, isn't it? And what the heck is that 'fortune' part?"_ the tracksuit man awkwardly chuckled.

Dakota then decided, "Fine then. You'll know how much shenanigans she had caused back when we were at the orphanage."

"There we go…" Gretchen whispered sarcastically while giving him a weird smile. "Go on, expose and laugh at my immature past habits."

"Many many many many years ago, you can say… mostly thirty years ago…" Dakota genuinely led Cavendish detail by detail. "Technology, as you know, had developed itself rapidly but… not many kids are as lucky, that included us."

_Around 2145…_

_Just as I [Dakota] had said, technology advanced itself so quickly than even a family with medium income couldn't handle it._

_Such families had different ways to solve their problems. Some chose to sell their own properties like houses, cars or any other valuable belongings. Others, who couldn't wait for the government to balance things up, chose to leave their children for the orphanage…_

"Wait, wait. I thought you had a mother. Y'know, you had mentioned it earlier when we met that scary old lady," Cavendish interrupted the story.

Dakota glanced away and scratched his hair, "Well, because I'm a weird case. The owner of the orphanage, who was a beautiful lady, told me that my mom had sent me there because she didn't have the ability of being a mother. The babysitter thought that was a weird excuse, but she expressed honestly that she had been afraid something bad would happen to me when I was inside the mom's hands. So… I'm not exactly that poor. In fact, I have two houses as my home right now."

"Why you… You were certainly luckier than you are now," Cavendish commented.

"You can't be certain of that," Dakota then continued his story. "Gretchen's case is not that fortunate, however."

_[Dakota] I remember she had told me about an infant. The story happened when I was four years old. I was too young to recognize the danger happening around the world. Even when I was seven and finally heard the story, I couldn't exactly tell you all of it._

_But I know the main story and that's what matters._

…_Okay, I'm rambling so let's just get to the point here._

_I was four years old. One day, I visited the park with my babysitter._

_Well, the reason I got close to her was that the orphanage didn't have that many orphans to offer extensive care. It had four boys, including me, and one girl, who was and is her real daughter._

_She just loved to do her job, didn't she?_

_Anyway, I and those three boys visited the park with the babysitter. We played by passing the ball to each other._

_Yeah I know, sounds plain simple and boring but things got more interesting when I accidentally kicked the ball behind those bushes._

"_Aw… Dakota… you played it too hard," a boy complained._

"_It's all right. That's bro Dakota we're talking about," another boy seemed to stand on Dakota's side._

"_Thanks… I guess…" Didn't really get what they're talking about though. What can I say? I'm not born for education and stuff._

"_Let me get the ball," the woman stepped over the bushes to find the missing ball._

"_Yay!"_

_As soon as they had cheered, the sky turned darker and they could feel some water drops above their heads._

"_Woah…"_

"_Is that…" Dakota stared up to the black sky. "rain?"_

_Meanwhile, I was told that while she was finding the ball and found it, she saw a weirdly big box next to it._

_She thought that someone could leave it behind, so she turned and left it there without hesitation._

_That was… until she heard something._

_A cry._

_More of them came from the box. Her woman's heart told her to do something._

_But back there, she was-_

"Oi, is this exactly the story?" Cavendish jumped in again. "Didn't you say you can't remember the details."

"How can I not in this part?" Dakota said deeply. "How can you forget it when… someone shares his or her life experience… and then seeks your help or your light to guide the way… then you have helped them… you have… helped them all… but yourself…"

Gretchen widened her eyes. Though it was just a spur of his inner thoughts she never expected it to be that deep.

"Anyway, back to my story," Dakota chuckled before continuing.

_She should do something. But her feet were immovable. She was too afraid._

_Then she saw it was about to rain after hearing that thunder._

_And she couldn't hold it anymore!_

_The cry was getting louder and louder._

_Probably something in there was having a nightmare with thunder and unfortunate events._

_She ran back to the tree where she had seen the box and opened it._

Gretchen widened her eyes one more. It gave her more of a shocking expression this time. She felt natural… as Dakota had expanded her room of memory.

The room that she had never told before in her life.

Turns out that Dakota wasn't just going to tease and expose her bad past habits.

He really cared about those details and willingly told it to Cavendish.

She didn't mind at all.

Those two are close friends.

And maybe… she is their friend…

_Just as she thought, the cry which gave her the courage to open the box was coming from a baby._

_She was wrapped with a large aqua blanket. Her head was kinda small compared to her body._

_Just what a baby girl was doing there, she questioned herself._

_And it rained for real._

_It rained and rained and rained…_

_And rained…_

"Why are you stopping, Dakota?" Gretchen tried to contain herself and also want to hear a part of her past that she has never known before.

"You dare to tell us a story and leave us there in suspense," Cavendish complained.

"I know… I can't remember the rest…" Dakota closed his eyes for concentration. "Wait up while I'm looking for my own childhood memory…"

* * *

After going for a long, tiring trip, all the things the kids wanted to do were just eating dinner, washing themselves, and watching a part of a really really long Dr. Zone marathon before tucking themselves in sleeping bags for… a sleepover.

Certainly they couldn't go straight to sleep as that wouldn't be a fun sleepover anymore.

"Wow, I think it's the first time we all join in for a sleepover, Amanda," Sara sat down to where Milo and Amanda had already been waiting for the drink she brought to them. "This wouldn't happen without your invitation."

"Just normal things that I should do. Going a trip together with friends, and I only have Milo here…" Amanda said.

"Hey, I can be your friend too!" Sara gladly volunteered.

"Can't be happier to befriend with Milo's sister," Amanda joined Sara for a handshake.

"Hey, since we're all here, we should tell each other some story," Milo suggested.

"Telling story is a cliché…" Milo's sister stated then just accepted the request. "But before going to what I really want to do, I just want to point out that this looks like a meetup we have before."

"A meetup like this? But you said this is the first time we all have a sleepover," Amanda tilted her head.

"I think she is talking about a meeting of me, Sara and Zack. Zack went to my house and helped me packing some old T-shirts which would be sent for the donation," Milo chuckled. "It would be a fun story."

Sara and Milo took turns to tell the trip to the zoo.

"And for some reason, Milo and Zack accidentally gave away my mom's collection of rock concert T-shirts."

"I knew that they were important to mom, but Sara's short backstory seemed unbelievable."

"Yeah right, and so we were looking all over the place for a bag of Mom's T-shirts. I remember that it includes: a bus, a slope, two large ski jump, a zoo and a bunch of monkeys."

Milo laughed awkwardly before telling the last part of the story, "So finally we managed to get them back and she was delighted. You know what she's going to say?"

"Something like," the perfectionist had her guess. "'Oh, I'm so proud of all of you.' Then she joined in for a group hug. Mwah. Mwah. It's such a delightful ending."

Sara and Milo giggled after the guess, much to Amanda's confusion.

"What… what's wrong with my guess?"

"Nothing… kuh… aha,- Um…. She said this."

"_I was looking everywhere for these._

_I was gonna give them to you guys to donate."_

"Oh…" the perfectionist simply exclaimed before… she couldn't hold her laughter anymore. "Ahaha, oh my… seriously… I'm sorry for laughing but…"

"That's okay. We find that really funny, to be honest," Milo stated while also laughing.

"Murphy's Law never leaves this guy alone," Sara chuckled.

"But didn't your mom love those shirts?" Amanda wondered.

"That's why I told you Sara's backstory was unbelievable," the boy revealed. "I mean, she wasn't that young for those T-shirts… at least, that's what she said."

"Wow… storytelling time turns out to be brilliant. Anyone is up for another?" Sara said.

"My turn," Amanda then made a sneaky smirk on her face. "Be prepared for the 'Shortest Scary Story Ever'!"

Sara and Milo stared at each other blankly.

"Well, I guess the title says it all," Milo couldn't wait to find out about it.

"EXACTLY!" Amanda leaned her now a scary look of her face close to Milo, then tried to make a spookier mood. "Heardy, heardy. This is the story of a middle-aged man.

One day, he came back home after what seemed to be one of the most boring working days in his whole life.

He was so tired of life that he ate less than usual.

He cleaned himself sooner than he was supposed to.

He tucked into his blanket way sooner than he usually did.

But one habit that he didn't change."

"Oh, what is it? What is it?" Milo constantly question.

It took Amanda five seconds to reveal.

"Watching movies."

"Oh…"

"Come on. I mean, most of us will watch something before going to sleep, right?" Amanda then came back to her story.

"Anyway, watching movies is the easiest way to get him to sleep.

This usually takes him five to ten minutes to sleep deep.

But that day, he was so tired and sleepy that only thirty seconds when the introduction was just about to start, he already slept like a log."

"That does sound like a scary story considering the mood you're putting and… the weird habits of that man," Sara commented.

"What you're about to hear is even scarier… 12:00 a.m. (he slept at about 11:00 p.m. though), he got a call from someone."

"Huh?" Milo quizzcally exclaimed.

"That's just normal these days, Milo. Everyone's hours of waking can be expanded a little bit. This is normal," Sara informed.

"Sounds like it comes from a night person like you, Sara."

"Well, hehe," Sara chuckled. "Sometimes."

"He picked up the call and he and the stranger introduced themselves as any call from a weird number would have. And then… the stranger said…

_What I want is your head… hahahahaha._"

"N-n-n-n-n-n-no way…" Sara trembled but hadn't been offically broken yet.

"Go ahead, Amanda," Milo still stayed calm.

"And then the stranger said that the innocent man had to call back three hours later or else…

…his head will be chopped without him noticing!"

"AAHH! You cruel stranger!" Sara squeaked.

"Oh… terrific!" Milo exclaimed even though his expression didn't even have a sign of sweating.

"Don't you scare, Milo, huh?" Amanda really tried her best to scare her friend.

"That's a scary story. Please continue," he said it, but the way he smiled after offering scared her more than the story did.

Amanda sighed and accepted her defeat, "Okay, why am I not surprised?

Anyway, he couldn't ask what really happened on time. He was so scared that he dropped and broke the phone."

"P-p-p-poor the clu-cl-c-clumsy ma-an," Sara shivered in fear and ducked behind Milo. He just heard it while wondering how she could fall for such a standard scary story.

His standard for a scary story is also in question.

"Tired as he was, combined with the fear from the call, he felt worthless.

As a worker living from hand to mouth, he knew that even his worthless amount of money couldn't save him from death.

So he decided… to watch movies again.

He hoped that he could see the last of them before saying farewell to the world at exactly 3 o'clock.

Convenient enough, the movies he wanted to watch earlier were broadcasted on a movie channel."

"Then what… then what…" the sister couldn't take it anymore. "PLEASE JUST SAY THE END OF IT OR I'LL DIE AT 3 O'CLOCK TOMORROW!"

"Now Sara… that's a bit of exaggerating," Milo tried his best to comfort his sister.

Amanda continued with a spooky voice, and the room which had already been poorly lit, "Usually, he easily gets into sleeping after he or someone else making him watch those movies.

But right after he received the threatening message, he couldn't sleep.

He tried to focus on the movie. But he couldn't. His mind was full of thoughts on how he would die, the ways he wanted to say farewell to the world and so on…

Try to guess what's next," Amanda sweetly gave the two the question.

"What's next, huh? WHAT'S NEXT?" the biggest Dr. Zone fan almost chickened out the whole room.

Milo, however, smiled. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He stood up and stepped closer to where Amanda was standing. Close enough for a romantic gesture, but Milo thought he could do it for fun.

"So Milo, you got the answer?" Amanda was kind of nervous that Milo could be so confident and walk up close to her like that.

It was after that moment, Milo opened his eyes and revealed the answer.

"It was time for the movie he had _heard_ earlier, right?"

"Heh?" Amanda exclaimed. She then chuckled as she had already realized that Milo is a relative to Murphy's Law – the greatest fear of mankind. _"So you figure out…"_

"Eh? What do you mean… by that?" Sara, who then felt like a good, asked him.

"This is a normal scary story that anyone can set it up," Milo turned to look at Amanda after blaming his sister for being that afraid. "Although you have done a nice job on scaring my older sister."

He then explained, "Let me explain. Firstly, the threat wasn't from a real person."

"But… she just said that a stranger having called that man and told him that he would die at 3:00. He just came back home and slept right away, so maybe the stranger might have prepared… his death before he came home."

"Then let me ask you, Sara. If you were the one to call and say that you would kill him, what would you normally say?" Milo asked his sister.

"Heh?" Sara tilted her head while not knowing where her brother was leading her to.

Amanda then gave Sara the hint, "Normally, you would say 'I'll kill you as revenge for something', or 'I'll sneak into your house and kill you.' Wouldn't that be more effective?"

"Hmm…" Sara thought. "Now that you mention it, it is quite weird. But how does it help about knowing if the message was real?"

"That's because he didn't turn off his movie."

"Righteous, Milo…" Amanda whispered.

"But how…" Sara was still in the air after having those fears haunt her for a while.

"Because I didn't mention that he had turned off the movie and then went straight to sleep," Amanda explained. "Besides, the late night movie watchers will mostly have that habit, right?"

"He accidentally heard a scene with the threatening call from the movie. Having been tired enough, he wouldn't doubt anything and confirm it as a real call," Milo continued.

"He was so afraid of the call that he didn't have a chance to realize the situation, as he dropped the phone and broke it," the perfectionist said. "So he chose to wait for his death sentence by watching the movies and guess what?"

"He came back to the mentioned movie and realized that…" Milo giggled. "…the scene was very much similar to the threat he received, aha."

"Honored to be the storyteller for this scary story," Amanda bowed as a thank for her audience.

"Wait… what? So I was scared for nothing? But it's a scary story?! It's supposed to be horrifying and such," Sara did feel like a fool for herself.

"Such a smart story, Amanda, though I wasn't trembling for a bit of it," Milo stated. "Okay, now it's my turn to tell you all. But first… who wants pillow fights?"

Milo then immediately received a pillow throw from Amanda, "Two steps ahead of ya!"

Sara shot the gun on the two younger ones, "You two never get away with it!"

Of course, she had some revenge to take after being scared and driven like heck.

It was payback time, literally because some stuff might be broken after it but Milo tried to do the best to make the least out of the damage.

Other than that, they would have a very fun pillow fight so rest for sure.

* * *

**Sidestory of An Adventurer (Part 2)**

His parents would have their reasons to be worried about their son once they realized his situation.

Being inside an empty space beneath the sofa where a girl was lying and having a nice sleep was no good if he wasn't trying to lie himself.

At least he borrowed a cushion as a pillow from another sofa which was put on the other side of the living room. The living room was quite modern although it looked kinda small compared to the standard one.

The night had already fallen for a long time. He had been stretching and feeling uneasy for no reason. It could be the unfamiliarness of the space he had no choice but to get used to. It could be the fear that he would be busted while not knowing what 'they' could do with him.

An adventure of an adventurer didn't start off easy, certainly.

"Okay… okay… one Melissa, two Melissa… one Milo, two Milo," he tried to count his friends as much as possible in order to even shot himself to sleep if he could. "Okay… I'm better now. Couldn't be a nicer sleep when…"

At the point he could get a potential nice sleep for himself, Melissa suddenly got up from the chair.

He knew the noise. He thought she was sleepwalking just like Milo but.. his guess was later proved to have been wrong.

"Somehow… I want to see the star from the outside…"

Melissa, from the girl who is a fan of nice sleep to a girl who is looking for night stars.

"_You're kidding me, Melissa! You must be kidding, right?!"_

The place where the helicopter landed was basically a desert with no sign of life, at least inside the 10km diameter.

They didn't guard the door for this reason, and Melissa could easily get outside in this way without them noticing.

Phils and Chief must have been confident enough to sleep inside their own rooms instead of the cabin where they could easily guard the place and keep in check of their 'students.'

He knew he did think something through. Melissa was really new for this trip, yet they didn't plan anything like guarding her, and let her exit that easily instead.

He planned for a nice sleep after many efforts, but at this point, he knew he had to make the point of his own adventure…

…to make sure she was safe.

You could believe that he was bored and had absolutely no one to play with besides her.

And since that moment, he came to accept that he should just stand and see her play… from a distance.

"Guess I should… keep track of her again," he whispered to himself.


End file.
